SABATTUS — The town has hired an interim police chief to fill in after the departure of former Chief Eric Baker earlier this month.

David Kurz, who has served with a variety of departments since his career began in 1974, will head the Sabattus Police Department until a permanent chief is found.

From 1996 to 2020, Kurz served as police chief in Durham, New Hampshire.

He also has leadership experience at a number of police departments in Maine, having served as chief with the Gorham Police Department and Maine State Police, as well as taking on the role of deputy director at the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and Maine Department of Public Safety.

Kurz is one of 12 police chiefs appointed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to an advisory board. In that role, Kurz will head the Sabattus department while also advising the town on how the department might be better managed.

When Baker announced his resignation at the start of December, the town lost both its police chief and town manager — Baker, the full-time police chief, had also been serving as interim town manager.

The search for a town manager is expected to continue into the new year. In the absence of a town manager, the Select Board assumes the role of that position. Richard Lacombe is presently chair of the board.